Make it count everyday.

Menu

THE MORNING RUN 2

Marley’s cool tongue felt good on my cheek and I relaxed long enough to realize that there was a ringing in my ears. It was almost painful and I could not think. I looked down and there were spent shells everywhere and my right hand was white knuckled around the CZ. My pants were wet and I could not tell if it was sweat or urine. I could not smell but I could taste that sweetish taste of gunpowder. As I tried to get up I felt warmth on the back of my neck. I turned and got Bailey’s tongue all over my face.

Again I tried to get up but Marley started to bark again and I was once more paralyzed. The ringing in my ear became even louder and through it I heard the loud scream of a blow horn. “Police!” “Put the gun down and lay on your stomach” I complied, but the dogs were not as cooperative. Marley continued to bark and was joined by Bailey. They were almost standing on my back. They continued to bark for far too long it seemed, but gladly the police officers waited. The shouting stopped and the dogs soon stopped barking. However, Marley continued a low-pitched growl that increased in volume if anyone approached. Since I did not have a watch on I could not measure the passage of time, but it seems I was on the ground for a longtime. I looked up and saw the K-9 unit pulling up and also noticed that there was a roadblock. I had never seen this many cars on my street. Nor had I ever seen police in my town with guns drawn. Nor had I ever heard of an alligator exiting the lake in this area. I drifted into what seemed like a dream, seeing but not believing and hearing but not listening.
I was brought back to reality by the growling of Bailey. I focused and saw the police handler and a large German Shepherd moving in my direction. I felt sympathy for the approaching team. Both Marley and Bailey started to moving in the direction of the K-9 team but stopped about a body length away from me. They were posturing and got dust all over my face and into my mouth. I was about to move my arm to clear my eyes of dust when the officer closest to me shouted “Stop!”. I then realized that I was surrounded by 5 officers with guns drawn and pointed at me. I glimpsed yellow police tape in the distance. This was not the morning I had in mind when I went for my run.